


Gathering Rain

by Gwenndolyn



Category: Greek, Greek and Roman Mythology, Mythology
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 10:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenndolyn/pseuds/Gwenndolyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>I'm really bad at writing summaries</b><br/>Ash (Hades), a dreadfully awkward and temperamental "businessman", volunteers to take in Rain (Persephone), the sister of his right-hand-man, when the line of work they're in threatens her safety. [This a modern Hades/Persephone AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gathering Rain

He had already walked by the shop once. It was quaint place, from what he could see of it. The storefront was painted messily in a dark, forest green color; some of the paint had slid before it dried onto the clear glass of the windows. The path of concrete in front of the store was littered with flowers, all in plastic containers for sale or planted in huge ceramic pots. Ash couldn’t see much past that, since flowers bulked up the window space. He couldn’t even see her through them, but wished that he could. His dark eyes had easily memorized the cracks in the sidewalk, the huge black boots that covered his feet stepped on each one without any care. Black cats and walking under ladders had never bothered him, but apparently a little blonde girl did. Ash couldn’t help but let out a grunt at the thought, he still didn’t understand it.  
  
He stood in front of the door, contemplating going in. The palms of his hands were starting to dampen with sweat, sliding slightly on the bronze-toned handle that would lead him into the shop. After another huff, and a few obvious stares from a man sweeping the street, he pulled the door open, and held his head high as he walked inside. It was after three o’clock, so he was sure that she was there. Immediately, Ash was hit with the scents of flowers, all different kinds for sure. He of course couldn’t pick them out from one another; all he knew was that he practically fell over from all the overwhelming smells. It would’ve been a very white-washed space, if not for the various bright flowers that seemed to grow from the tables and coolers; he was sure that they were lovely, if you were the sort of person that adored flowers. But he really wasn’t. He was he kind of person that adored her, for some terribly strange reason.  
  
The sound of Rain’s voice beckoned him from across the store. It was a small area, and she was distinctive. The sound of her voice was so soft, it sounded more like glitter than a voice. She wasn’t speaking to him, but instead to some older woman that looked to be in her fifties, with tightly permed, greying brown hair and holding a large bouquet of flowers. If Ash heard it right, the woman seemed to be thanking Rain, which didn’t surprise him in the least. She was sweet, deserving of thanks. The woman walked past him, but he was still looking at her. Her hair was light blonde, so long that he wondered when she had last cut it. Her skin was a creamy, beautiful color, her eyes a sparkling blue. It took him a moment to realize that those eyes were trained directly onto him. He snapped to attention, stiff as a board. The expression on her face shifted, from an easy, pleasant smile to a confused one.  
  
“Ash! It’s good to see you, but, Dan left half an hour ago, he’s not here.” She said softly. That was so her, assuming he was there to see her older brother, his nuisance of a right-hand-man. Ash had never liked Daniel very much. He was cocky, rude, and patronizing. But he knew his way around the streets, and Ash’s late father had liked him, so Ash just let things be. The left side of his mouth quirked in Rain’s direction, the closest to a smile he ever really got. He felt some heat creep up into his neck; he hadn’t expected to get this far. Usually he just walked around the shop, became frustrated with himself, and went home. He didn’t have an excuse ready. He had no reason to be there.  
  
His left hand was sunk deep into his pocket, his right hand pushed through his clipped dark hair. “I know,” he stated, his gaze directed right at her. “I just came by because; I need some flowers, for…my house.” His voice shook ever so slightly with every word. It didn’t make much sense, that someone like Ash would need a springtime bouquet for their parlor, not that he even had a parlor. He lived in a large, Victorian style home outside of the city, on a private drive guarded by a heavy gate. He didn’t do flowers. But Rain seemed to buy the excuse, because her face brightened visibly.  
  
“Oh, really? Great! Do you know what kind you want? The roses are doing great this time of year, but so are the mums, and the daisies.” She said, already flitting around the shop. She moved with such energy, her face clear with concentration, like finding a good mix of flowers for Ash was the most important task of her day.  
  
Ash didn’t bother to follow her around the shop, she was moving too quickly for him, anyway. He stood his ground by a display of pink things and watched her as she moved, shrugging in an unattached way “I don’t really know,” he told her honestly “just, whatever you like.” he requested, his right hand moving to rub the back of his neck. She was a nerve-wrecking girl; all kind and wanting to make you happy. Rain nodded in an easy way, she wasn’t even listening to what he said. She was already pulling flowers out of the coolers, bunching them in her hands before placing them on the counters. Those bright blue eyes held dedication, her long hair flying around just slightly as she moved, forcing the almost-white strands to follow behind her, carried by the small gushes of wind she was making for herself. Ash smiled to himself, he should’ve come inside sooner. “What have you got there?” He asked after a couple of minutes of Rain’s work. She was at the counter now with the flowers, arranging them on a piece of plain brown paper.  
  
She looked up towards him, then, and then back down at the flowers, like she’d been lost in her own little world. “Well, I put in some white daisies, that’s those,” she explained, her slim finger pointing to a white flower with long petals, she could sense that he didn’t know one from the other “and then added some carnations, and just a little bit of baby’s breath.” She looked up at Ash, her teeth closed around her bottom lip. “Do you like it?” She then asked.  
  
Ash looked down at the flowers with a raised brow. He couldn’t really make sense of it, with all the flowers pushing up against each other. He couldn’t tell where one flower ended and the other began, except for the color. The daisies and baby’s breath were white, and the carnations were a light pink color, god only knows why she picked that for him. It was pleasant to look at, though, and he appreciated the effort that she’d put into it for him. She’d made it especially for him, and was obviously hoping that he approved of it. And while a lot of people wished for Ash’s approval, she was one of the rare few that actually had it. He started to nod, a calm look on his face “Of course. It’s…nice.” He told her, not knowing how to compliment an arrangement of flowers.  
  
He supposed he did it correctly, though, since Rain grinned at him like that was the best thing she’d heard all week. “Perfect! Okay, I’ll wrap it up for you.” She folded the brown paper over the fresh green stems of the flowers, placing a piece of clear tape on the seam to hold it in place. She then cut a piece of green ribbon from a spool that was beneath the counter, and tied it around the paper loosely, making a small bow on the front of the wrappings that almost made Ash cringe. He held back his rude facial expression, and instead fished a fifty dollar bill from his wallet and left it on the counter. He picked up the bouquet of flowers and nodded to Rain, mumbling a thank you to her, just before he turned away from her and walked towards the door. “Uh, Ash that’s too much-“ was all that he heard her say, since he was already pushing the door open and stepping out onto the street again, where he could finally breathe.  
  
“Christ,” he muttered under his breath, scrubbing a hand over his face and walking briskly down the street. He had only been inside the shop for maybe twenty minutes, tops, but he still felt like he was suffocating, his eyes looked tired and his breathing harsh. It was good to see her, to see her smiling and happy with him. But he was carrying a bunch of flowers that looked alien in his hands, and he was still trying to catch a whiff of something that wasn’t petunias. It was too far out of his element. But as he walked through the maze of streets and alleys, he knew that he would do the same thing again next week. At least, he would walk around the block. Maybe not go inside just yet, he might need to wait for that. Ash’s personal silence broke when he heard the tone of his cell phone go off. He let out a rough sigh before sinking his hand down into his pocket to retrieve the silver and glass phone that he only ever used for calls and texts. He glanced down at the word flashing across the screen, and quirked a brow when he saw Daniel Callas, Rain’s older brother. He tapped his finger against the green accept button as he walked, lifting the phone to his ear. “Yeah?” He asked, his voice sounding gruff as usual.  
  
“The shipment of heroine is in at the docs, I’m on my way there right now” said a voice from the other end of the line. Ash held back a groan, he really wasn’t in the mood to handle business just then.  
  
“Alright. I’ll be there in ten.” He grunted into the phone, and hung up.

**Author's Note:**

> So if you've actually gotten this far and read my first chapter, thanks so much!! I'd love any feedback you guys have c:  
> ♡♡♡,  
> Gwen


End file.
